Progress of Cryogenics and Isotopes Separation

National Research and Development Institute for Cryogenics and Isotopic Technologies - ICSI Rm. Valcea, Uzinei Street no. 4,

P.O. Box Râureni 7, 240050, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania

ABSTRACT

Heavy metals have a great ecological significance due to their toxicity and accumulative behavior. The presence of high amounts of heavy metals in the environment, induced by human activity, is one of the most important tasks of the present environmental issues. The enrichment of these elements is influenced by both, immobile and mobile sources. The accumulation of metal contaminants in sediments can pose serious environmental problems to the immediate area. 

Trace metal contamination in sediment could affect the water quality and the bio-assimilation of metals in aquatic organisms, resulting in potential long-term implications on human health and the ecosystem.  The Danube played a vital role in the settlement and political evolution of central and southeastern Europe, and is an important water source for irrigation in Romania.

This study was carried out to investigate the concentrations of trace metals in the sediments of river Danube in Cernavoda area, when 12 representative samples were collected. The heavy metals analyzed were Cu, Cd, Ni, Pb, Zn and Cr. The samples were subjected to a total digestion technique and analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS).

The potential contamination was assessed by geo-accumulation index (Igeo) which gave us the information about the background or contaminated levels. It is proved that the choice of the background plays an important role in the interpretation of the geo-chemical data Based on the results, it can be concluded that Cernavoda Area is unpolluted for the studied metals.

Keywords: Geo-accumulation index, Heavy metals, Pollution, Danube River